I think everyone can agree that soda in general is never a healthy choice on so many levels, but diet soda is even worse.

Diet soda first debuted in 1959 as an alternative for those with diabetes. The first diet sodas were sweetened with saccharin. According to Wikipedia in the United States saccharin is often found in restaurants in pink packets; the most popular brand is “Sweet’N Low“. A small number of soft drinks are sweetened with saccharin, the most popular being the Coca-Cola Company’s cola drink Tab, introduced in 1963 as a diet cola soft drink.

86% of Americans use diet products, including low-calorie, reduced-sugar, or sugar-free foods and beverages. In the U.S., consumers spend about $21 billion per year on these drinks. By comparison, these same consumers only spend $14 billion on organic food.

Precision Nutrition offers this breakdown of diet colas:

Continue reading What you NEED to know about diet soda

I just came across this article written by Dr. Mercola that I had to share. I wish I had read it before I went out and bought some Green & Black’s Organic Easter Chocolate for my children!

Burt’s Bees lip balm was originally sold at independently owned health food stores. But more recently, Burt’s Bees products have appeared everywhere — in grocery stores, drug stores, and big-box stores like Target and Wal-Mart. That’s because Burt’s Bees is now owned by Clorox, a massive corporation that has historically cared very little about the environment.

Continue reading ‘Natural’ Brands May Not Be What They Seem

With the warmer weather hopefully here to stay, I’m itching to just open up all the windows in the house and let the fresh air in. Spring around my house goes hand in hand with cleaning, almost like a purge of all traces of winter.

I used to blindly go about my cleaning using mainstream products like Lysol and Mr. Clean. I was horrified to find out that I was actually leaving chemical residue allover the surfaces I thought I was cleaning. After much research and talking with my Grandmother, I came up with a whole arsenal of homemade cleaning products. Now I save money and preserve our health and environment.

Here are my favorites:

Continue reading Spring Cleaning the Mommy Greenest Way!

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just released its ranking of 47 conventionally grown fruit and veggies according to their pesticide load. In this economic climate when all of us are a little more attentive of each dollar we spend, this list can provide some parameters on when to spend the extra money for organics.

DIRTY DOZEN (Buy these organic)

1.Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (Imported)
11. Carrot
12. Pear

CLEAN FIFTEEN (Lowest in Pesticides)

1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet Peas
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon
13. Broccoli
14. Tomato
15. Sweet Potato

With all that is out there these days, it’s really a matter of consumer beware. In fact some of the things that we think are healthy for us, turn out to be quite the opposite-dangerous even. Sprig has put out a list of the 10 most dangerous foods. Foods that we should really avoid when given the option. None of the foods on the list will immediately strike you dead, but consistent exposure to some of the contaminants in them could cause long term effects.

Continue reading 10 Most Dangerous Foods